Super Bowl wrap-up for Steelers Nation

Warner Bros. sent me this year’s Super Bowl wrap-up video; the same one they produce every year and release three weeks after the Super Bowl. The format is always the same; a review of the season’s ups and downs, the interviews with the coach, players and management, the playoff run, and the dramatic win in the biggest game, all narrated with the same droll intensity by NFL Films stalwart Harry Kalas.

If that sounds cynical or snarky; it’s not meant to be. I still have my VHS tapes of the wrap-up videos of the two Denver Broncos Super Bowl seasons. The production values aren’t quite as slick as they are on the latest disc, but they’re pretty close. The NFL knows how to package its product.

I suppose there are some regular fans of the NFL in general who will want this disc. But in all honesty, the market for this year’s edition is Steelers Nation. Fans of the other 31 teams in the NFL are probably going to pass this one up. Especially if your team is one of the 17 teams the Steelers beat this year in their quest for their sixth Lombardi trophy (including the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14).

A number of NFL journalists rated this Super Bowl as “the best one ever.” Well, it seems to me that nearly every Super Bowl that didn’t turn out to be a rout has been rated as “the best one ever.” To be honest, I found Super Bowl XLIII to be somewhat boring for the most part, until Arizona came back and took the lead with less than three minutes to go after being down most of the game. (Besides, the best one ever was XXXII, when Denver beat the Green Bay Packers 31 to 24, with momentum changing every quarter. Not that I’m biased, or anything.)

But then again, any honest NFL fan knows that only 30 percent of the game at best has plays worthy of the highlight reel. There’s not much exciting about a three-and-out, or a series that only lasts for two or three sets of downs and then a punt.

And speaking of that, did you ever notice that the only time the punter or kicker on these videos makes the highlight film is if someone returns his kick for a long runback or touchdown? We might see the punter tackling the runner, but that’s about it. Of course, it might have to do with the fact that a lot of times they have European names that are a tangle to pronounce.

After the 65-minute main presentation, there are a few extra features on this disc. First is the post-game presentation of the Lombardi trophy, along with post-game interviews. Pre-game Media Day highlights are included. There are profiles of Steelers players Willie Parker, Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers defense; coach Mike Tomlin and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. And there’s an entertaining segment on the Steelers Nation fans, who state a forceful case that the Steelers are the true “America’s Team” (as opposed to the Cowboys) because of their blue-collar ethics.

I don’t like or dislike the Steelers (except when they’re playing my Broncos), so I watched this disc in a lazy fashion. And from their hard play this season, I’d have to say they deserved this win. I’m just glad they didn’t play Denver this year. (Of course, as bad as Denver played this year, then it was just as well that the Broncos didn’t make the playoffs.)

Bottom line: If you’re a Steelers Nation member, or own a Terrible Towel, pick this disc up. Everyone else just needs to remember that commercial from the Super Bowl a few years ago: right now, we’re all 0-0.